1. MAKE AN IMPACT

Helping others practice or learn a language will impact their lives; not being able to communicate, especially in English, is a struggle for many of our members.

2. FEEL GOOD AND ACCOMPLISHED

Volunteering your time and skills to help others creates a sense of accomplishment and improves self-esteem.

3. REDISCOVER YOURSELF

Volunteering will give you the opportunity to discover new interests and skills you didn’t even know you had.

4. LEARN A LANGUAGE

You will meet fantastic people from all over the world and get the chance to learn about their language and culture.

5. IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH

Volunteering positively affects your mental and physical health. It helps reduce stress.

Here are some tips that will be useful to ensure an effective language exchange.

1 – USE A TIMER

Make sure everyone gets equal practice time according to the activities. Decide how long your language exchange will be and divide that time between your two languages. We suggest 1 hour per language. If you are running out of things to say, check the Topic Cards.

2 – DON’T MONOPOLISE, INTERRUPT OR MINIMIZE THE CONVERSATION

Constantantly evaluate yourself while in the conversation. Are you talking more than the others? Are you always interrupting others. A good conversation needs to be balanced.

3 – MAKE SURE YOU ALWAYS LEARN SOMETHING

If something is not clear, don’t be shy to ask your language partners to repeat, explain or translate. The main purpose of the language exchange is for you to be able to follow the conversation and participate! Ask your partners to slow down if they speak too fast.

4 – TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION YOUR PARTNER’S LANGUAGE LEVEL WHEN SPEAKING IN YOUR LANGUAGE

Encourage your language partner to participate and make sure they can follow the conversation by speaking clearly (think of when you give an address over the phone). Explain, repeat, write down or translate when necessary, and slow down
if your partners ask you to. If someone says a word that you don’t understand (because of poor pronunciation, for example), just ask them to write it down, then say it for them. Pronunciation is important!

5 – DECIDE HOW YOU WILL HANDLE CORRECTIONS

The main goal of a language exchange is to communicate and be understood. Try not to correct grammar all the time, and it is better not to interrupt someone in the middle of a sentence to correct him or her – too much correction interferes with the conversation and can frustrate and block speakers. Do however clear up errors that interfere with understanding. If someone insists on being corrected, you can do so!

 

6 – HAVE FUN!

How does it work?

The Language Club Abu Dhabi is a place where people can improve their language skills while making new friends and learning first-hand about other people’s cultures. The common language for all our language exchanges is English. Here is how it works:

• Pick your strong and your weak language from our language pool (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Russian, Arabic). Ideally English will be your strong or weak language.
• Look at the timetable and try to match both languages.
• Check the schedule and join the meeting. Please be 5-10 minutes before the exchange gets started. One of our team leaders will assist you to find a partner according to your level: beginner, intermediate or advanced.
• Check our Facebook group page regularly to find out about our conversation topic or activity of the week. For even better results print the materials provided and bring it with you to the language exchange.
• Keep track of time. The first hour is dedicated to English speaking or learning. During the second hour, you will practice or learn the second language.
• Make sure you always order something to drink or eat as a courteous gesture to the venue who let us use their space for our meetings.

Is the language club only for women?

No. TLC is open to everyone. Our morning groups are mainly composed of women but men are also welcome to participate. There are more men present in our evening group.

I want to learn a language but no one is interested in learning my language

In that case, you will have to communicate with the team leader of the specific group you want to join. He or she will decide if you can join based on the available “teachers”.

I am not a teacher. How can I help?

You don’t need to be a teacher to help others to learn your language. Remember how you learned when you were a child? Simply by listening to the people around you. Look in the resources section of this page for tools to help others. Read our post How to teach your language to others for more tips.

Do I have to pay?

The language club is free to all. However, you need to get involved in helping others learning your language. Also, you must order a food or drink item from the restaurants hosting the activity.

Can I volunteer to teach my language to a group?

Absolutly! We will be happy to assist you to find a group of learners and a place to teach. As long as you are doing it free of charge and respecting the club’s rules. English and Arabic are highly in demand!

There is no Language exchange in my area, can I host one?

Of course, you can become a team leader by hosting a group in your area, city or country. We will be happy to assist you in finding a location and members to participate in the language exchange. Send us a message at [email protected].

How can I become a team leader

Send us your request by email at [email protected]